Questions & Answers

Harold S. Paisley

Question: Is it scriptural to apply the
term "Church of God" to the whole church from Pentecost
or all Christians presently on earth, or of a number of churches
in a particular area? Could an explanation be given of the terms
"Jews, Gentiles and Church of God?" (1 Cor. 10:32).

Answer: The name "Church of
God" is never used in the New Testament of the whole church
from the beginning, nor is it used of companies of Christians or
a group of churches in one union.

The phrase "Church of God" conveys
two ideas for saints to understand. Firstly, each church is
Gods own possession and secondly, each church is set on its
own status of responsibility to act under divine authority alone.

There is a bond which unites all such churches.
The link is spiritual. It is life in the risen Lord and is the
common bond of all who call upon His Name even our Lord Jesus
Christ who is the Sovereign Lord (1 Cor. 1:2).

To use the term "Church of God" as
applying to anything other than a local assembly is to confuse
things which Scripture differentiates and misses the meaning and
value of the term.

As to the expression "give none offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles nor to the Church of
God" (1 Cor 10:32), we state what the application and
context means according to our understanding. Most expositors
apply the term as a division of the whole world. It is our belief
that Paul is speaking of three kinds of people in the city of
Corinth. There were Jews, Greeks (RV) and the Church of God.
Later he stated that once he persecuted the Church of God (1 Cor.
15:9) and in an earlier writing "I persecuted the Church of
God and wasted (made havoc) of it" (Gal. 1:13). In each case
he was referring to the local church at Jerusalem.

Regarding the expression "Then had all the
churches rest," the R.V. reading "The Church"
might suggest that the church was made up of a number of churches
(Acts 9:31). A careful reading shows that those who had been
persecuted were from the local church of God, scattered from
Jerusalem to all the districts mentioned.